


Don't Let Her Go

by Cartecka



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-09-19 19:42:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9457754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cartecka/pseuds/Cartecka
Summary: Cat Grant has watched Lena Luthor grow up and has watched her get broken over and over. She wants to make sure that it doesn't happen again.Inspired by @nerdaday on tumblr.





	

Cat has always been completely uninterested in the Luthors if she was being honest. They are your stereotypical old money, too-smart-for-their-own-good family. They're as well-known in Metropolis as the Waynes were in Gotham and the Queens in Star City, and most of the time, not worth reporting on. But Perry White has her running the party circuit so here she is.

She's already written the article. It's two hundred words, no more, and it just says that the gala, which is raising money for kids with cancer, had been a wonderful success. But Cat still has to make an appearance. It wouldn't do for her to get caught writing about an event she hadn’t attended.

It's old news (two-year old news to be exact) that the Luthors had adopted a young girl from Ireland. She’s made a few public appearances before but Cat has only ever seen her in pictures. For someone her age, she's a striking figure. Her skin is pale, her eyes a vibrant shade of green and her hair is pitch black. She looks like a porcelain doll. As Lionel gives his speech, the girl stands next to Lillian completely still. Cat doesn’t know much about children, but she knows that they usually can't stand still for very long.

The girl's eyes are trained in front of her, over the crowd, just like Cat had been taught to do when giving speeches. Look just over the horizon and don’t make eye contact with anyone in particular. It makes her a little uncomfortable to watch the immobile young girl but she can't look away.

When the speech ends, the Luthor family leaves the stage to a smattering of applause. Lillian walks quickly, with long strides and Cat watchs the young girl nearly trip over herself trying to keep up. Suddenly, Lillian pulls her to a stop and fusses with her seemingly already immaculate hair and dress and then, not-too-gently pushes her off towards one of the benches in the corner. Lillian doesn't spare the girl a second glance as she grabs a glass of champagne and turns to one of Lionel's business partners. 

It's fascinating to watch the young girl walk primly and elegantly and sit, legs together and toes pointed, on the bench, hands folded in her lap. She doesn't do anything else but stare off into space.

Eventually, Cat’s curiosity gets the better of her.

“I like your dress,” she says, as she sits down next to the girl.

“Thank you,” Lena says. “I like yours as well.”

Her voice is still that of a child, but she enunciates quite well and it sounds a little off to hear such formal speech from such a small body.

“My name is Cat Grant. What’s yours?”

“My name is Lena, Miss Grant. It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well.”

Everything she says is unfailingly polite but it sounds scripted. Cat has to wonder exactly what Lillian did to this poor girl to make her so obedient.

“These parties are kind of boring,” Cat says conspiratorially.

Lena’s eyes do a quick but fearful sweep of the room before turning back to Cat’s. They’re wide and surprised but she nods in agreement.

“And these dresses are not comfortable at all.”

Lena giggles and Cat lets out a little breath of relief. It’s nice to know that the child isn’t actually a robot. They talk, or Cat talks to her for a little while longer until Lillian is shouting her name and Lena scampers away as quickly as she can.

Cat thinks about the girl for the rest of the night, but by the next morning she has bigger things to think about and she puts her out of her mind.

 

* * *

 

Cat sees her a few times after that night. Whenever Lena is at a party Cat will try to get half a second alone with her to talk. As time goes on, she seems to get more and more demure to the point where even when talking to Cat, she’ll only mumble out one word responses. And then one day she disappears.

For the next six years, neither of the Luthor children make a public appearance. People speculate a little as to why but they eventually decide that their parents are just trying to protect their privacy.

So the next time Cat sees Lena is at Lionel’s funeral. By this time Cat’s left Metropolis and is starting out in National City. She’s just purchased the Tribune and it’s doing well. Well enough that Cat is starting to really entertain all of those dreams that she feared would only ever be dreams.

The funeral itself is open to the public though the wake is not. It’s a huge event on the Luthor property where Lionel had asked to be buried by his favorite tree. Cat hadn’t been planning to go at first but she’d had a gut instinct that it might be a good story and she’d followed it. Halfway through the proceedings, she’s pretty sure her gut was wrong. 

It's tedious and dull and clearly done less out of respect for the dead and more to put out some sort of appearance of mourning. Cat notices that Lillian doesn’t cry. She doesn’t really do much of anything but listen politely to everyone who speaks. Her own eulogy is well-written and clear cut though not particularly emotional or personal.

Lena does cry though, big fat tears that roll down her face. Her voice cracks as she speaks and her own eulogy is filled with stories about how Lionel had changed her. When she’s done, she stumbles off the stage into the arms of a young, bald man who Cat recognizes as Lex. He whispers something softly in her ear and holds her tight. When the funeral ends, Cat watches them walk off hand in hand back to the house.

 

* * *

 

She’s at the Luthors' Annual Gala. Normally she’d send one of her underlings to do the reporting but the Luthors have been hinting at releasing something big and juicy at this gala and Cat wants to see it with her own eyes. Of course, the Luthors won’t make any announcements until at least an hour and a half into the gala so Cat busies herself with wandering around and rubbing shoulders with as many of Metropolis’s elite as she can.

Eventually she finds herself at the refreshment table, and is considering how many hors d'oeuvre she can get away with eating without looking like a pig when she sees the glint of something from just under the table cloth. A quick glance around tells her that no one is watching so she ducks her head down and lifts the cloth to see a pair of very scared, very green eyes staring back at her.

“M-miss Grant,” Lena mumbles and she looks so terrified that Cat feels her heart breaking a little. She wonders what Lillian would do to this girl if she found out.

“Don’t worry,” she whispers. “I won’t tell.”

Lena breaks into a relieved grin and then with a wink, Cat lets the table cloth drop again, just in time to hear someone call her name. She turns to see Lillian coming up behind her.

“Do our table cloths interest you?” she asks, conversationally.

Cat laughs because she’s supposed to.

“No, no. Though they are quite lovely. I simply dropped my phone and had to pick it up. Clumsy of me really.”

“Hmmm, well clumsy isn’t the first word I think of when I hear Cat Grant. I hear you’re building quite an empire over in National City.”

“Oh, well. Empire might be a little strong, but I’m proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish. The company seems to be doing quite well, even after Lionel’s passing.”

“Yes, well, things have been hard but we’re pulling through.”

Cat nods and smiles and fakes her way through a little more smalltalk. It’s a skill that she’s become quite adept at and it seems that she’s able to please Lillian because she gets a somewhat genuine smile from her as Lillian excuses herself.

“As you probably know I have quite the announcement to make.”

Cat watches her go curiously. She’s never trusted Lillian mostly because she’s never understood her, doesn't know what drives her. Now is no exception. Whatever this announcement is, it will be big and Cat’s not sure it will be good.

She hears the rustling of the table cloth behind her and watches Lena step out. She’s older now, thirteen if Cat’s math is right, and she stands just above Cat’s shoulder. Her eyes are still that vibrant green, her skin still pale and smooth and her hair dark. But she seems less vacant than she had when Cat had seen her as a child.

“Thank you for not ratting me out,” Lena says.

“You remember when we first met?” Cat says. “I told you I hate these things. That’s still true.”

Lena grins at her.

“I was reading a book,” she says. “It’s Lex’s but he let me borrow it.”

“What’s it about?”

“Particle physics,” Lena says casually as if that’s something anyone, much less a thirteen-year-old, would be reading for pleasure. “It’s all very interesting though I personally am more interested in bioengineering.”

Cat watches her eyes light up as she talks. And it’s easy to see that her joy and her happiness is all thanks to Lex. Cat remembers how the older boy had held her at the funeral and she finds that she’s incredibly happy that Lena has someone to make her happy.

Her theory is confirmed when Lillian finally announces that Lex will be taking over Luthor Corp upon completion of his last year at Metropolis University. Lena beams and claps loudly as Lex walks up to the stage, waving and smiling charmingly. He’s handsome and charismatic and it seems the crowd thinks so too.

He says he’s happy to take over the company and that he’s looking to expand it and make it better than it’s ever been. He promises to remain true to his father’s ideals but to not be afraid of change and progress. Cat is cynical enough to wonder how much of what he says is bullshit for the investors to soak up but she finds herself charmed by Lex regardless.

She makes a quick call to her best reporter at the Tribune, telling him the scoop and sending him her recording of Lex’s speech so that she can get the story out as soon as possible. By the time she hangs up, Lena is no longer beside her but Cat sees her over with Lex. He seems to be teasing her about something and they’re both laughing. Cat leaves the gala with a warm feeling in her chest.

 

* * *

 

When Lex Luthor turns bad, Cat is just as surprised as the next person. She’d been following his career closely for years since it began and had, like most people, fallen a little for him. He’d always been unfailingly polite and kind. Under his watch, Luthor Corp had flourished and he’d made a good name for himself.

The news that fifteen people had died in an attempted attack on Superman that had been traced back to Luthor Corp shook her to her core. At first, she, like most people, assumes that it had been someone who worked under Lex who had orchestrated it without his knowledge. But the attacks keep happening, people keep dying and Lex stops lying. His anti-alien rhetoric soars and incites violence against Superman and other aliens living peacefully. 

Cat, the Tribune and the rest of Catco follow the story tirelessly. Lex may be Metropolis’s golden boy but everyone in the country knows Superman and everyone wants to know what will happen to the man who wants to kill him.

The story goes on for years, much longer than anyone wants it to and the death toll rises. Opinions get more and more divisive. Many of the people who were on the fence end up siding with one or the other. Some go to Lex because they’re just as afraid and vain and jealous. Many side with Superman as Lex crosses line after line that they think shouldn’t be crossed.

Lena’s name, thankfully stays out of the conversation, though Cat thinks of her often. She wonders if the little girl she knew, who must be grown by now, agrees with Lex. Wonders if she’s capable of feeling that much hate or if she disagrees with her brother and has cut all ties.

It isn’t until the trial that Cat finds out. She doesn’t go, though every particle in her body is itching to. But she has a company to run and a CEO can’t just pop into whatever courthouse she wants. So she sends one of her underlings with strict orders to report back every detail.

James Olsen takes pictures. Cat sees Lex, dark and drawn and looking nothing like the charming young man she’d once seen. There’s Superman, broad-shouldered and tall. His expression is appropriately somber in every picture and Cat can tell he gains no pleasure from what he has to do. And then there’s Lena. She’s asked to testify on the fourth day of the proceedings. Even just in pictures she looks like she wants to disappear in her seat. Her skin is, if possible paler than ever, off-set by the dark circles under her eyes. Cat reads the transcripts and has to fight back tears.

Lena swears she didn’t know. She talks about projects that she helped him on, good things, nothing related at all to his criminal activities. She talks about how she begged him to stop, how she tried to convince him, to show him that what he was doing was wrong. Cat swallows past a lump in her throat when she sees the pictures of Lena crying. She looks broken, maybe permanently and Cat wishes somehow that there were something she could do.

 

* * *

 

After having gone completely radio silent for nearly eight months, Lena Luthor shows up in National City in a beautiful new building and the first thing that happens is that a space shuttle she was supposed to be on nearly goes down. Cat has been trained to not believe in coincidences and she’s right. For a heart-stopping second, she wonders if she was wrong about the youngest Luthor. Maybe she isn't so far removed from her brother's designs. Turns out Lena is not only innocent, but she was actually the intended victim (Cat tries to convince herself that she knew all along and she was just considering all angles as a journalist).

Cat sends out a quiet thank you to Supergirl when she hears that Lena is safe. But when Kara tells Cat that Lena plans on going ahead with the renaming ceremony, Cat wonders if her thanks come too soon. She understands that Lena must be trying to make up for her brother’s crimes (though lord knows that’s not her responsibility) but putting herself in needless danger is not the way to go about it.

She wonders briefly if she has enough sway over the younger woman to convince her not to go through with it, but she suspects she doesn’t. She does admire Lena quite a bit for it though. It’s plucky and Cat has always admired pluck. Still, she watches from Catco with bated breath as the bombs go off. Her heart settles a little when she sees the red of Supergirl’s cape but she isn’t entirely calm until Clark Kent’s article is on her desk the next day. It says that Lena Luthor is safe from the assassin sent by her brother. Not only that, but she was the one who shot him, saving the life of an FBI agent.

Cat feels a swelling of pride in her chest that she has only felt for a handful of people before (Carter, Adam, and Kara mostly). She wonders for a second if she’s being too hasty leaving National City now, but, no, she’s made that decision and she plans on sticking to it. She just hopes that Lena will be able to fend for herself.

 

* * *

 

For the first time in her life, Cat Grant does a spit take. It’s a pretty undignified thing to do and if anyone ever found out, Cat would probably have to kill them. But she can’t really believe the headline when she sees it. “L-Corp CEO Lena Luthor Dating Catco Reporter Kara Danvers.”

It seems unreal and a little crazy. Not that Cat can’t see how they would be attracted to each other. After all Lena Luthor is gorgeous and powerful and Kara always had a thing for the smart ones. And Cat Grant knows better than anyone how wonderful Kara is. How easily approachable and warm and sunny. But, she wonders is Kara is really prepared to be dating Lena.

After all, Lena may show the public one face, but at her core she’s still broken, still hurting. Cat can see it in her eyes even if no one else can. And sure, Kara’s been through some troubles but she’s so bright and pure that Cat wonders if she could ever even see the darkness that is within Lena.

By all rights, Cat should be worried about Kara. After all, she’s like a daughter to her but Kara can take care of herself. Cat doesn't think Lena can take another heartbreak.

It’s total coincidence that Cat had been planning a visit to National City only a week after the news is released. It is not a coincidence that she shows up at an L-Corp fundraiser while she's there. She doesn’t tell anyone she’s going to be there, partially because she likes making a splash and she wants to give her own reporters something to write about and partially because she just wants to watch for a bit.

At first Lena and Kara barely acknowledge each other’s existences. Lena is busy talking to some very pompous looking businessmen and Kara is babbling away to her reporter friends. She’s not allowed to report on her girlfriend for ethical reasons, and instead seems to just be distracting everyone else.

Eventually though, they do gravitate together and it seems inevitable, the way the seek each other out, the way their hands touch just so they can feel one another. Lena speaks quietly to Kara who gives her one of those megawatt smiles that could break hearts. But that doesn’t seem to be the intention here. Kara leans closer as she speaks and Lena smiles up at her and it’s not overtly intimate at all but Cat feels a little like she’s snooping.

She decides she’s seen enough for now and marches over to them.

“Miss Luthor,” she drawls, eyeing her curiously. “This is quite the fundraiser. A little on the nose though, don’t you think? Raising money for alien refugees. Some might say you’re trying too hard.”

Cat watches out of the corner of her eye as Kara’s face cycles through surprise, happiness, and then disapproval at Cat’s words.

“You might be right,” Lena says graciously. “But I do believe in this cause quite a bit. After what my brother did, I have to give back and what better way than to do it directly. Feel free to write a scathing article about it if you must, it won’t change my position.”

Cat laughs. Lena has all of the smarts, ambition, and drive of any of the other Luthors Cat has met. But she’s softer around the edges. Her smiles reach her eyes and she speaks passionately.

“Miss Grant won’t do anything of the sort,” Kara says, and Cat nearly falls over at the confidence in her voice. “She’s just testing you.”

Of course, Kara would see through that. How many times had Cat done the exact same thing to her? Still, she’s a little surprised at the fact that Kara spoke up at all. Kara isn't her meek little assistant anymore. It seems that promoting her had been the right choice.

Though Cat doesn’t think she can take all the credit for it. Lena reaches down and takes Kara’s hand and, unconsciously Kara’s spine straightens and she tilts her head up a little. It had been easy to see how Kara would help pull Lena out of her little corner of darkness, but now Cat can see that Lena isn’t the only one changing for the better. Cat supposed that if anyone other than herself could teach confidence, it would be the woman who decided to take over and rebrand the most notorious company of the last century.

“Hmmm,” Cat says, narrowing her eyes in a way that always made Kara flinch. “Well, this is a lovely party you’ve got here. I do believe I have a little change I can spare for such a worthy cause. You’ve done well, Lena.”

Lena smiles and for a second she looks like that little kid that Cat found under the table again.

“Thank you, Miss Grant. But I’m sure you and Kara have a lot to catch up on and I unfortunately have to talk to some investors. I’ll be back soon, darling.”

The last bit she directs at Kara and places one quick kiss on her cheek before walking off. Kara stands there for half a second looking dazed until Cat clears her throat.

“So, Kara. How have you been? How is working with Snapper?”

“Good,” Kara says, in that overly positive voice of hers. “Great actually. It’s amazing. I knew I picked right being a reporter but its better than I could have ever imagined.”

“Well, that’s good I suppose. So, you and Lena Luthor. How did that happen?”

Kara blushes, like Cat knew she would, and fiddles with her glasses.

“I had to interview her a few times for various things. I, um, I was the only reporter she would talk to. And so Snapper kept sending me each time he needed something from her. And then she asked me out and, yeah, I guess the rest is history.”

“And you like her?”

“Yes, Miss Grant. She’s amazing. She’s so smart, and beautiful and strong. God, she’s so strong. And brave. I worry a little that she’s not quite cautious enough sometimes though. Did you hear about the gala? There was this gang that was targeting high end events and places and Lena set a trap for them. She could have gotten hurt but she was more concerned with bringing them down. I mean, she’s a hero.”

“You do know, of course, that Lena has history, right?”

“She’s not like them! She’s not! She’s proven it time and time again and what else does she have to do to convince everyone.”

Kara’s sudden ire surprises Cat until she realizes how that must have sounded.

“I’m sorry Kara. That’s not what I meant. What I mean is that Lena Luthor has lost a lot. Her life has been hard and… I knew her somewhat as a child. We were never close but I saw her at many of the Luthor events. She was only ever happy around Lex. When he started killing people, it broke her heart. She nearly fell apart.”

Kara looks confused.

“I know that, Miss Grant. Why are you telling me this?”

“Because, Kara, I’m not sure she could survive it if her heart was broken again. Do you understand?”

Kara blinks, gaping like a fish.

“Are you saying that…? I would never do anything to hurt her Miss Grant. I mean that. I love her.”

Kara seems ernest but she always seems ernest. Of course, Kara would never do anything to purposefully hurt anyone, especially not Lena, who she really seems to care about. But Cat still worries.

“I mean it, Kara. You have to do right by her. You can break my son’s heart. You can break Witt’s heart and you can break James’s heart. They can take it. Lena cannot. So you can’t do to her what you did to James and suddenly decide that you’re not into it anymore. If you don’t think this will last, if there’s any indication that it might not, you need to end it now before she gets in too deep.”

“ _I’m_ in too deep for that, Miss Grant,” Kara says. “I love her. More than I’ve ever loved anyone. More than James. I can’t imagine not being with her, not loving her. I know it’s early and it’s only been a few months, but I know right now that I could spend the rest of my life with her. I won’t leave her.”

Cat purses her lips thoughtfully and then nods.

“Very well, Kara. You two do make a lovely couple. I wonder if you’d do a photoshoot for Catco. Or not, maybe that’s too much. But I would like to interview you, let the people get to know the woman who stole Lena Luthor’s heart.”

“Miss Grant, I’d really rather not—“

“Nonsense, Kara, have my assistant schedule it.”

She leaves Kara spluttering behind her and, after leaving a hefty donation, and makes her way out. After all, her work is done. She spares one last glance over her shoulder before she exits and sees Kara reverently kiss Lena on the cheek. Lena melts a little into it and smiles up at the younger girl lovingly. Cat leaves that night content in the knowledge that maybe for the first time in her life, Lena Luthor is in good hands.


End file.
